Life Changer
by LunaWeeb
Summary: Lily Addison moves from England to Japan with her best friend Sasha Fay, expecting to have a peaceful time. Unfortunately, after irritating a certain information broker that thought would remain a fantasy.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Tokyo Japan has millions of tourists a year for a variety of different reasons which could include: tasting new cuisine, visiting the various shopping districts and nightlife areas, exploring Mt. Fuji or learning more about the temples and culture. However, what inspired a certain girl and many other people alike to visit Japan was for one particular reason…Anime. Whilst she was still very interested in the other aspects of Japan, watching anime and reading manga sparked an interest in the Japanese culture of which she wanted to experience first-hand.

Lily Addison decided after many trips to Japan with family and friends that she wanted to live in the busy, bustling city of Tokyo. Fuelled by her obsession with anime and Japanese culture she was elated for her flight to Japan to see her new apartment in Shinjuku that she'd be sharing with her best friend and fellow otaku, Sasha Fay. Positively buzzing with excitement the twenty year old couldn't get to sleep, it could've been considered childish but she didn't care, she was going to be living in Japan!

Jumping up as soon as she heard the usually miserable sound of her alarm clock Lily raced to get dressed in an outfit she laid out the night before with the hope of tiring herself out a little (the plan failed). Rushing out the house, after practically choking on a piece of toast she went to the airport and looked around for Sasha, finding her buying some food and a drink, guessing that she had skipped breakfast. Waving Sasha over the two friends ran to each other as best they could without tripping on their suitcases or spilling Sasha's coffee over the both of them.

Sasha and Lily sat waiting for their flight enthusing about Japan and comparing how much anime they'd watched the night before, Sasha won as she watched a lot with only two episodes (The Tyrant Falls in Love for example) whilst Lily went with twelve episode anime such as Death Parade. It would be safe to say that out of everyone in the airport those two were probably the loudest there, including screaming children in the rankings.

At last, the plane arrived and they were on their way to Japan.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Upon landing in the airport Lily and Sasha almost wet themselves with excitement, they'd finally arrived, their hard work diligently learning the Japanese language for the past few years was going to pay off. Taking the Haneda Airport Domestic Terminal to Shinjuku Station they arrived in under an hour and were overcome with the realisation that they'd be living on their own far away from their families in England, part of them was thrilled the other was slightly worried.

Finally, they reached the doors of the building they'd been living in when Sasha received a text from her girlfriend Mai asking to meet up in a couple of minutes. The couple had met on one of Sasha's trips to Japan with her family the year before when checking out different buildings in Shinjuku she could live in. Within the course of around a week they'd managed to hit it off quite well and exchanged contact details, it didn't take them long to start dating. With Mai living so close, Shibuya to be exact, it was very convenient for their relationship.

Due to Sasha's new arrangements she left in search of Mai and left Lily to her own devices, after doing the last few pieces of paperwork Lily was on her way to see the apartment that she and Sasha now owned. Just as she entered the lift a hand went out to grasp the door to stop it from closing, it was a tall man with dark hair, a smirk gracing his features. Lily only glanced up at the man for a second before looking back down at the floor.

"I haven't seen you around before, you just move in?" the strange man asked her.

She froze, the man had spoken to her, what was she supposed to do? Obviously the answer was simple, she should reply even if just a simple 'yes' but that task appeared too daunting for the girl as she struggled to force a reply but it had already been a few too many seconds of silence. It would be strange to say something after such a strong pause, it would make for an awkward turn in conversation, as if it wasn't awkward enough already.

By this point the man had started to look irritated at her lack of response so she concluded that it was too late to do anything about it even if she could which she predicted that she wouldn't be able to anyway. Lily had never been very good with people; it took a while to open up to them unless they shared common interests or if the person was extremely friendly and refused to give up waiting for a continuation of the conversation (without being obnoxious about it that is).

After what seemed like forever the lift stopped at her floor and she scuttled out hastily into the corridor without looking back as she flung the door open and flumped to the floor with a gentle thud. Maybe it was a slight over-reaction to fall dramatically onto the floor but social situations are stressful and you can't expect not to get a few scars on the way out of a conversational battle. Although, they didn't technically engage in any conversation or socialising at all unless you count staring at someone, positively terrified as being social then Lily totally conquered it.

Once she'd calmed down Lily took a proper look around her new home. There was a lovely little kitchen immediately to the left of the front door and a corridor that lead past both bedrooms into the living and dining area. A large window offered a breath-taking view of the lively city and the bathroom was to the far right as you reach the living area. All in all it seemed to that it was quite spacey however, with the mounds of boxes cluttering every inch of the floor it was difficult to tell.

To make some space she decided for probably the first time in her life to be grown up so she made a start at unboxing and setting up a few things, leaving her belonging for when Sasha got back to discuss who'd be staying in what room. As she sorted things out her mind wandered to her neighbour and the embarrassing first impression she must've made. He probably thought that she was either stuck up or couldn't understand Japanese; she'd either look like a snob or an idiot who makes important life decisions without thinking. What a nightmare.

A short while had passed, roughly two hours before Sasha made her entrance. "Hey Lil," she greeted.

"Welcome home Sash," Lily smiled back.

Taking a break they decide to sit back and relax and talk about anything and everything, lounging lazily on the sofa: the good life. Both were ecstatic to be living together, they'd been friends for years and they weren't just on their own but in another country too. While Sasha was mostly gushing about how much time she'd be able to spend with Mai and all the dates they would go on Lily was mostly weebing out about all the merchandise she wouldn't have to order online anymore.

"And we could visit Akihabara; I think it's called 'Akiba' for short, I heard it's known for being a great place for weeb and otakus," the presumably twenty year old rambled.

"I can finally initiate the plan where I walk up to people randomly eating a potato. Of course I'd have to mention that my name's Sasha but still, it'd pay to have someone get the reference for once," her friend laughed.

"Aww, but I always thought it was a great time seeing all of those poor strangers thinking you escaped a mental institute."

Sasha looked off into the distance; sarcastically reminiscing on the fond memories she created by doing this. "Anyway, you young lady, need a boyfriend. There are probably loads of hot guys around here," she teased.

"Why? So we can go on double dates?" Lily asked, not understanding why her friend would bring this up now. They never usually talked about romance except for the 2D kind in the form of anime characters.

"No, Mai doesn't really trust men so that's not the best idea. Since you're my best friend I feel like I can tell you…" Sasha paused for dramatic effect, as if she'd been holding in a lifelong secret of being an alien or something of that nature, "I basically just want you out of the apartment so I can spend some alone time with Mai."

Lily scoffed in amusement at her bluntness "Only just moved in and you're already driving me out, how rude."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right!"

More strange and bizarre topics came up after that before the afternoon gradually drifted into evening where they had a quick and easy dinner before choosing rooms. Sasha chose the once closest to the front door which worked out well as Lily preferred the one adjacent to the living area. Separating for the night after an exhausting day it didn't take very long for the two friends to fall into blissful sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Waking up early the next day Sasha prepared a breakfast of bacon and eggs on toast, the smell of the egg roused Lily from her slumber and the sizzling sound of bacon beckoned her out of bed. During breakfast Sasha brought up the fact that the both of them would need new jobs to pay rent, they couldn't rely on their parents for that, it would be disgraceful.

"We should go out and look out and see if any jobs are available today, there have to be some here in Shinjuku," Sasha stated practically.

"Good idea, I'll go see if there's anything in Ikebukuro, it's quite close and it's better to have a wider choice," Lily suggested.

"Liar, you want to go sigh-seeing don't you?" the other girl folded her arms in a mock scolding.

"Okay, okay, you got me. I'll sight-see whilst looking but I promise finding jobs will be my first priority," she started "Wait, weren't we supposed to look for jobs online before we came here?"

"Yeah…I didn't, you?"

"Nope, oh well. We can just do this instead but we'll have to find something fast before our parents get suspicious and think we forgot."

"You mean: find out we forgot."

"But we didn't forget, I remembered just now."

Sasha rolled her eyes before heading back over to the kitchen to wash up her plate. With plans for the day decided they set off in search for jobs, Sasha in Shinjuku and Lily going to Ikebukuro.

Thankfully Lily didn't run into the man she probably offended the day before; that would've made their awkwardness levels skyrocket through the roof but she managed to make it outside safely. The sky was filled with fluffy white clouds as if someone had thrown sheep's wool into the sky; a happy shade of blue was prominent, the sun beaming. Large scale buildings shaded people from the rays, protecting her eyes as she approached the station that would take her to Ikebukuro. Her trainers were quiet on the pavement, only a slight padding could be heard from them as she strolled along. Was this what it felt like to be free? She didn't know but she was sure it would feel something like this.

Using the Yamanote Line it only took around twenty minutes to reach Ikebukuro. Unfortunately it didn't take very long before she was lost in a crowd of people that blocked out any street signs from her view. Squirming her way out of the sea of people Lily remembered that she brought a map with her just in case a situation such as this was to arise.

Noticing the girl struggling with the map two passers-by approached her although it wasn't so much to help out as it was to compliment the anime her shirt depicted. Usually Lily wouldn't be so willing to interact with strangers but when lost and with people who appreciate her taste in anime she can make an exception. Explaining what had happened and what she was trying to do, admittedly somewhat hesitantly, she found herself two enthusiastic tour guides.

They offered to take her to a café to discuss the options available; she accepted, glad to be getting somewhere on the job hunting mission. Not a normal café though, she was taken to a maid café, oh the horror. Sitting at a table close to the window, next to a large potted plant the dark haired girl started listing a couple of options.

"Actually, isn't this place looking for a new maid?" she asked her friend.

"Oh yeah, Reiko-chan left recently didn't she. Aww damn, I liked her," he pouted.

"You should totally work here! We'd see you all the time, I'm friends with the manager and it sounds like a whole lot of fun," the girl encouraged.

Lily however was reluctant to the idea "Um, I'm not sure. I'm not very good at speaking to people."

"It's okay, how about we request you so much the other customers don't have a chance until you get used to it," the man whom she found out was named Walker persuaded.

"Yeah, it would make the manager really happy if you did. Things can get a little hectic with less staff even if only down by one person."

"…Okay, I'll try it," Lily quietly gave in.

Arranging an interview with the manager it appeared that the search for a job was over for today, she had multiple other options as well if she didn't get the job for the maid café. Instead of heading home though, her new acquaintances Erika and Walker wanted to give her a tour of the city so she'd know some places she could go to on her breaks if she were able to get the job. They also introduced her to a couple of their local friends.

Firstly, they went to Russia sushi where they found a tall Russian man named Simon trying to draw in customers without much success, everyone seemed too intimidated. Erika and Walker had no trouble however and they introduced him to Lily to which he tried to make her buy the sushi, quite insistently, forcing a flyer into her hands. Other than that slightly odd introduction she found that Simon was probably a nice guy from the few minutes she'd witnessed Erika and Walker talking to him for.

Then they ran into Kyohei and Saburo with the van where they were gleefully showed her a fraction of their manga collection, to say it was impressive would be an understatement. Not too long after that a certain, grumpy looking bartender entered the scene smoking on a cigarette, a man with dreadlocks following close behind him. The bartender turned out to a debt collector named Shizuo Heiwajima and the person behind him was his colleague Tom Tanaka.

"Hey, Shizuo this is Lily by the way. She's new to 'Bukuro so if you see anyone giving her a hard time we want you to use that scary face of yours and tell them to go home," Erika introduced.

"If she doesn't do anything stupid she won't need my help," he retaliated.

"But what if she got mugged?" Walker returned.

"…Fine," the monster of Ikebukuro stared down at the girl who was trying to hide behind her light brown hair. "You don't speak much."

"That's a bit rude Shizuo."

"How is it?"

"She's just shy," Erika explained. "Or maybe you're just not worthy of speaking to someone with such a fine shirt."

By this point Kyohei stepped in "Okay, that's enough about that from the two of you."

And with that they set off again and made it around Sunshine and various other similar places before bumping into Masaomi, Mikado and Anri. Most of the conversation was between Erika, Walker and Masaomi whilst Mikado looked lost and confused. Anri seemed to be reserved as well so when she they locked eyes Lily mustered up her courage and gave her a small smile…possibly, who could tell?

The group small group had to leave though, they were all off to watch a film but no sooner had they left a familiar tall, dark haired man much to Lily's despair. She had been hoping that she wouldn't run into him any time soon, it was part of the reason why she wanted to go to Ikebukuro today instead of looking around Shinjuku. It seemed her plan at avoiding him had failed and to make matters worse Erika and Walker had called him over.

"Izaya," Walker called "Come and introduce yourself."

Lily went back to looking at the floor like she had done when they'd first met in the lift. This was definitely going to be interesting.

"You think I, Izaya Orihara, need to be intro-" he cut himself off. "You're the girl from the lift yesterday," they spoke in an accusing tone.

"You know her?" Erika questioned.

"She's new to my building," he grumbled "I tried to strike up a friendly conversation and got nothing in return, not even a 'hello'!" folding his arms over him chest he huffed in annoyance.

Both anime crazed lunatics started laughing hysterically at what they had just learned. It wasn't every day that the great Izaya Orihara would engage in a 'normal' conversation with someone even if it were to just find out who they were. He was an info broker after all; he had his sources and could probably find out who she was in a couple of hours. Yet he took the time to just ask himself only to get no reply.

"Will you two shut up," Izaya demanded, the tips of his ears turning a light shade of pink, obviously humiliated by the event.

Feeling terrible about her actions Lily stammered out a quiet apology to the man "I'm sorry for being rude the other day."

"You think I care about one puny little human's actions? If so you're wrong," with that the informant stomped off into a common crowd of people.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It seemed that Lily would never be in her neighbour Izaya Orihara's good books, even when she tried to apologise he was still angry at her. The last time was probably Erika and Walker's fault as they'd laughed at him she supposed that he just felt humiliated but that still didn't help, at this rate they'd continue being angry at her.

Today wasn't so bad though, she hadn't seen him when going to her interview at the maid café that her new acquaintances had suggested before. Since they were low on staff (and also because Erika apparently recommended her) Lily was able to get the job and she'd start the very next day. Perhaps she'd describe her job as being a waitress at a café instead of a maid if and when her parents asked about it.

At that moment life decided to betray her, she was obviously having too much of a nice day, needless to say she was face by Mr Orihara once again at the lift of their building. The crimson eyed man sighed in annoyance that he had to run into this little pest and made a move to take the stairs so he wouldn't have to spend any more time around the brown haired girl in front of him.

That was before she stopped him by gently tugging on the sleeve of his fur trimmed coat that he always seemed to wear, he obviously liked it, or maybe he just didn't have any other coats. But that didn't matter; Lily Addison had made her decision to commence 'Mission Apologise to Izaya and Get His Forgiveness'… The name was a work in progress for sure.

"Please…" she started timidly. "I-I want to apologise properly. Would you, um…would you please come over and have some tea?" she blurted out bravely all in one breath.

Izaya stared down at her, he wasn't going to make it that easy "I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"…Why? Are you busy? You could come over another time, just tell me when," at last, Lily's stubborn side kicked in. She wasn't letting him get away without a fight.

"Ugh, that's not it, I just don't like tea."

"I have coffee," she pushed.

"Fine, since you're being so persistent," he sighed once more and they boarded the lift back up to Lily's apartment.

As soon as they got in Lily put the kettle on. Sasha wasn't there as she was out job hunting again, this time with Mai so it was just the two of them in the apartment now. Izaya leaned against a counter opposite the boiling kettle looking thoroughly irked, who wouldn't be, he hadn't been given much choice about coming here. At least she didn't drag him over, she wasn't childish enough (more like she wasn't strong enough) to do that.

Once the kettle finished boiling and both of their drinks were the way they wanted them Lily attempted a better apology. They hadn't had the best first impression but maybe they could at least take the lift together without having an uncomfortable, looming air hanging over them if she apologised, hopefully.

"I really am sorry for my rude behaviour before. I'm not very good at talking to people, I know that's not any excuse for being rude but…It's just difficult for me. I hope you can understand and forgive me for my actions," she said, staring down into the depths of her tea.

"Well that sure was dramatic," Izaya mocked making Lily panic, she'd annoyed him again! "Because of that entertaining display, blowing this situation so far out of proportion, I, the great Izaya Orihara, shall forgive you."

Mission success! What a relief it was to have that off of her chest, she could go about her life without worrying about running into the odd man again.

"I'm curious, how were you able to afford to live in one of these apartments?" he asked. "It's smaller than mine but don't believe that it'd be that cheap."

"You see, my grandfather passed away a few years ago, I helped him out before he died. Cooking, buying food, that kind of thing, so got an inheritance from him; also, I've had the idea of living in Japan for a while now so my roommate and I, including our parents started saving up."

"I see, that sort of dedication is hard to come by nowadays," Izaya remarked, taking a sip of his steaming hot coffee.

"You sound old when you speak like that," Lily gave him a small smile. "You don't look that much older than me, how were you able to pay for your apartment?"

"That's a secret," he smirked, not giving her a straight answer.

"…" she stared at him expectantly.

"…My job pays well, nothing all that exciting," Izaya gave in.

By the time they had finished having many different conversations, they'd already gone through three cups of their preferred hot drink.

"Thank you for the coffee, I'll get out of your hair now," Izaya walked over to the door, shrugging his coat back on. Lily nodded kindly in response, she'd hoped he could stay longer, she'd enjoyed the company and didn't know how long it would be until Sasha got back but she held the door open for him politely as he took his leave.

Almost as soon as Izaya had left Sasha returned with Mai so she didn't have to worry about being lonely for much longer. Seeing the look on her friend's face Lily wished that Izaya had left a little sooner. Her lips twisted upwards in a smirk, head tilted down, eyes wide and eyebrows raised; yes, she had definitely gotten the wrong idea.

"So," Sasha drew out. "Who was that handsome man that just left?"

"Our neighbour, I offended him recently so I invited him over to apologise," Lily ignored her friend's teasing.

"What were you thinking?" Mai suddenly roared out of nowhere. "Don't just let some random guy into your apartment. What would we have done if he tried something on us, if we were just a little later we could've been raped!"

Both Lily and Sasha were taken aback by the outburst. "I don't think that Mr Orihara would do that. He didn't strike me as that type."

"He's a man isn't he?! They're unpredictable beasts. They're all the same inside even if they act differently outside!"

"Mai, calm down, we're fine. He didn't do anything so there's nothing to worry about, right Lil?" Sasha tried to calm her furious girlfriend.

"I don't want you to put my girlfriend in danger ever again, you hear me? You are not to let any men into this apartment! Have I made myself clear?" Mai ignored.

Scowling slightly, Lily spoke up, which for her was a rare occasion. "I'm sorry but it's not really any of your business who I let into my home, nothing bad happened, we were just talking. I don't understand what about this situation has you so upset."

"All men have ulterior motives! Are you so blind that you don't understand that?"

"Not all of them do, you shouldn't discriminate people like that," Lily scolded, calming down a little.

"Mai, please try to calm down. We can invite who we want into our home, but we'll be careful about it. If we think anything may happen we'll make sure to phone the police okay," Sasha reassured before sending Mai on her way, thinking it would be better to give everyone space to cool off.

"Sorry about that, I just remembered that she doesn't really trust men all that much."

"You don't say," Lily sighed. "It's fine, but I don't appreciate having her dictate who we allow through the door. I have a couple of acquaintances, maybe even friends, and one is a guy. I just don't want to feel like I need to ask for her permission if I want to invite them over."

"Yeah, I know, she was out of order there. Maybe it'd be best to not have any men over when she'd round though."

"I expect her to be here," Lily defended.

"I meant in the future, sorry, I should've told you she was coming over anyway."

"Don't worry about it Sash."

"Thanks…"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Mai's outburst from the night was certainly unexpected for Lily, Sasha had always told her stories about how cute she thought Mai was but then to react so violently. Perhaps something had happened in her past that caused her to react like that. Still, it wasn't any of her business who she invited into her house. Lily supposed she shouldn't be so grumpy about it but it bothered her, it was her house, she was able to get away from the restricting rules of her parents just to be bossed around by someone her own age. She wasn't having it.

Inhaling deeply to calm her down she took the train to Ikebukuro for her first day working at the café, she didn't want to make a bad first impression with the customers. The sky was grey, light fluffy clouds turned into heavy sacks of rain. Damn it, she didn't think to bring an umbrella or coat; praying that it would pass by, by the time she was finished with her shift.

Erika and Walker were easy to spot as they were flailing their arms in enthusiastic waving motions to which Lily smiled gently in response, holding up her hand in a less dramatic greeting. The manager quickly emerged and lead her into the 'Staff Only' room in the back, she instructed her new employee to use the back entrance as to not ruin the experience for the customers. She explained that they came to the café to see the maids in uniform and that if they saw her in her usual clothes, for some customers it could take away from the experience.

Despite that everything was running smoothly, the dress wasn't all too puffy or short, it was actually quite modest for a maid café she expected. Not many people were in this early in the morning so that made the job easier, there were a lot less people to deal with. She was called over occasionally but most of the time Erika and Walker were able to predict when someone was about to call her over and quickly stepped in.

"Excuse me Miss," a male customer asked politely.

"Um!"

"Please could I order -"

"U-um…O-of course M-master," Lily stuttered as she bowed, hurrying off to retrieve their order.

So maybe she wasn't quite used to the whole 'master' and speaking to people yet but she was getting there, she was doing fine bringing the orders out, she hadn't even tripped once, sure it was the first day but she felt like she was doing well all the same.

"Hey, you're doing a great job. You're totally the cute, silent type," Walker complimented.

"Yeah, I agree. It seems a lot of the customers that you served today are into that," Erika added.

"A-are you sure? I'm not sure I'm doing that well speaking to them."

"Nah, you're doing great for your first day." Just then both of their phones went off signalling an incoming message.

"Sorry Lily-chan, it looks like Dotachin needs us, don't worry though, you'll be fine. Just relax," with those words of reassurance, they were off.

"Lily…chan?" Lily was then reminded that Erika often gave the people around her nicknames; she supposed that this would be hers. With that she went back to work.

Meanwhile, a certain black haired information broker was going about his day, prancing through the streets of Ikebukuro. He hadn't run into the monster at all today, it was a refreshing change, normally he'd enjoy angering the poor beast but today he just wanted some sushi and Russia Sushi was the best place by far to get his fatty tuna.

Casually walking home he thought noticed that girl from the lift working in a café…wearing a maid's uniform… No, he must be mistaken. Prying himself away he started heading back to Shinjuku again but curiosity got the better of him and he felt his body moving on its own towards the doors of the café.

He stepped in. It was confirmed, they were working as a maid, what an interesting discovery. He never would've guessed a shy girl like her would have a job like this. She walked over to him but didn't appear to notice that it was him; oh he was going to have some fun with this. A smirk crept its way onto his face.

"W-welcome back Master," the girl stammered shyly.

"Well Miss Addison, fancy meeting you here," Izaya taunted.

"M-Mr Orihara, w-welcome, umm, please sit down, do you want me t-to show you to a t-table?"

"Since you asked so nicely," his smirk widened, looks like he wouldn't be going home yet after all.

All the while that Izaya stayed at the café he continuously stared at Lily, waiting for the perfect opening to embarrass her further, how was she supposed to get used to the job if everyone acts the same? One day she might meet an intrusive or difficult customer so if you thought about it he was really only helping her.

Izaya ended up staying until her shift was over, teasing her whenever he got the chance. It seemed that luck wasn't on Lily's side as it had started raining a few minutes before her shift ended but that wasn't all, by now it was chucking it down. What a great day to be unprepared!

Standing out of the way under a small bit of shelter she found she decided to wait it out. However, the downpour was relentless, soaking everything in its grasp there was no way she could make it home without looking like a drowned rat.

"Shouldn't you be going home now?" the irritation-of-the-day asked.

"I forgot to bring an umbrella," she flushed at her own carelessness.

The man surprised her by removing his coat and holding it over the both of their heads protecting them from the rain in a silent gesture. Lily gladly took it up and scuttled closer into Izaya's side, under his arm which he was using to hold his coat up, considering that she was a few inches smaller she found that she was just the right height to fit snugly. Due their close proximity she could feel the warmth radiating off of him, the complete opposite to how she felt, she couldn't help but feel slightly irritated at that, she hadn't been outside that much longer than him, how was he so warm?

They made their way to the train station in silence, the rain battering down on the pavement and Izaya's coat would've probably drowned out anything they said anyway. When she thought about it, it actually sounded relatively peaceful like a lullaby; it was starting to make her feel tired listening to the harmonic pitter-patter on the pavement. Water gushing out of the drains, hasty footsteps from the city's occupants rushing home, the splashing sound it made when they ran through the gathering puddles.

Yes, it was indeed very relaxing. Focusing on the noise she couldn't wait to get home and cuddle up in her pyjamas to lay huddled up in her duvet on her bed watching anime as the droplet of water would cascade down her window. Or maybe she'd just sleep.

It didn't take all that long to return to their apartment building which was lucky because despite having Izaya's coat as some form of shield the both of them still ended up soaked to the bone. Digging through her pockets to find the key she realised it wasn't in her front pocket where she usually kept it; the back one? Not their either, reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She was locked out. Of all the days to be locked out of her house it just had to be the day that it rained and when Sasha was at Mai's trying to resolve the conflict from the night before.

Turning around slightly she observed that Izaya hadn't left yet; he was still stood in the lift, presumably because he recognised that she forgot something. The way she was fumbling frantically through her pockets was probably quite a big clue though to be honest.

"You lose your key?" he inquired.

She nodded helplessly "Must've left it on the table."

"Come on, I'm sure my secretary has something you could borrow," he sighed although it didn't sound to be out of frustration like many of his previous sighs she'd heard.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N: I'm thinking of making this M rated but I'm not sure, I've never written anything like that before but I kind of want to have a go. If I manage to write something half decent then I may post it as a chapter or maybe in a separate story in case some people don't want to read that type of thing. Please tell me your thoughts on that, if no one suggests anything I'll probably write it separately. Thank you to those who have read this far!**

The waitress and the information broker entered the l apartment, swinging the door open silently in one smooth motion. Izaya quickly tossed his coat to one side; he'd deal with it later but right now the both of them urgently needed a change of clothes. Spotting his secretary hard at work sitting comfortably on his sofa he stalked over, trousers clinging mercilessly to his legs whilst his shoes made slight squelching noises with each step.

"What happened to you?" the secretary tormented.

"And here I thought you were smart Namie, obviously you can see that I was caught in the rain when helping this poor girl," he threw back dramatically.

"What, did you steal her?" Namie stared at the short brunette suspiciously.

"Who can say? But that's not important right now, do you have a spare change of clothes she could use Namie?"

The black haired woman huffed "And why would I be carrying a spare change of clothes?"

Izaya glared through narrowed eyes "No need to be like that Namie," he turned to face Lily "That's fine, you can borrow some of mine. I'll go find something now," and with that, he squelched off.

"So, how do you know such an awful man?"

"We're neighbours," Lily answered timidly.

"I see, but he doesn't often invite neighbours round."

"I got locked out."

Namie scrunched up her face and muttered under her breath "That sounds even more out of character."

An awkward lull formed in the conversation as Lily's replies got increasingly quieter to the point of being inaudible over the clacking of keys as Namie continued typing away on her laptop. Thankfully it didn't take Izaya very long to find something that could be suitable for Lily to wear, it did take longer than he expected though as he had to rifle through a pile of old clothes left discarded in the back of his wardrobe to find something small enough to fit Lily's small, fragile frame. Once he found something Izaya set the articles of clothing gently in her grasp as he led her to the bathroom where she could get changed in peace.

She gave her thanks and Izaya left to change in his own room. Peeling her jeans off of her legs proved to be a task; they kept catching and clutching at her legs, hugging the smooth porcelain skin. It was only after she was able to finally remove them that she realised how cold her legs were, they were practically ice. Folding up her jeans, she picked up a pair of old pyjama bottoms but they were a few sizes too big so they hung loosely at her hips and she kept standing on the ends, if she wasn't careful she'd surely trip. Her top was mostly dry as Izaya's coat kept it from getting too wet; only one of her sleeves had to suffer the harsh weather. Adding her shirt to the pile she wasn't surprised to find that the top she'd been leant was far too big as well. With it being a V-neck, similar to the one he was wearing today, it looked fairly low cut, revealing just how small her breasts were, something she'd been self-conscious about since high school.

Frowning slightly in the mirror she pulled the back of the shirt down in an attempt to make it dip down less but she pulled it back so far that it made her stomach visible. She then noticed that because of how loose the pyjamas were around her hips you could clearly see the top of her underwear which caused her to rip it back down again, adjusting it until it was in the right placement so no one could see her underwear or lack of…assets.

Double checking everything was in order Lily made her way back into the main room where Izaya was already changed and sitting at a desk facing a computer screen. He turned in his seat as the chair squeaked as his weight shifted. That signature smirk was still carved into his features when he gestured for her to sit on the sofa explaining that he and Namie had work to do; a politer way of saying "Sit down and shut up."

Lily obediently obeyed and sat down quietly on one of the cushiony black sofas, taking out her phone to see if she could text anyone so she wouldn't be bored. Sasha would be at Mai's all night so she couldn't go back home any time soon and she really didn't want to interrupt them anyway.

A new email appeared on the screen, from an unfamiliar sender. How odd, she never used her email, no one does. Reserving judgements on the primitive form of messaging she opened it up and noticed a link to a website and a password. Just in case the site was spam she looked it up to and made sure it didn't have a virus on it or anything similar. It looked clear and curiosity quickly took over as she'd already opened the page and typed in the password.

Forum posts and chat rooms where made clear. The Dollars site, it seemed strange that she'd randomly receive an email with the password in it; perhaps it was a marketing scheme of some sort. Whatever, it worked. Scrolling through the different chat rooms she noticed one with only two people in: the obvious option.

Entering the chat room, she was instantly hit by a huge crashing wave of sudden anxiety. What if they just wanted to speak to each other? What if they were having a private conversation? What if her presence there was an intrusion?

 **Kanra:** Welcome~

 **TarouTanaka:** Hey, it's been a while since someone new has joined

(Lily internally panicked. She knew this was a bad idea. Just as she was about to quickly leave the chat room the girl Kanra spoke again.)

 **Kanra:** Sure has~!

 **TarouTanaka:** Are you okay? Is Kanra scaring you, you've not said anything

 **Lily (Lily isn't her name on the site):** No, I'm fine. I've just never used a site like this.

 **TarouTanaka:** That's okay, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it

 **Lily:** Thanks.

 **Kanra:** Hey you two, stop flirting~

 **TarouTanaka:** We're not flirting! Don't pay any attention to her, Kanra is…weird

 **Kanra:** Aww, I don't deserve such a compliment

The hours flew by chatting to Kanra and TarouTanaka, she didn't say much but the way they interacted amused her. As it got later Namie collected her things together, making her leave, it was then that Lily checked the time 23:56. Wait, was it seriously that late? Bidding her farewell to her online companions she wondered what she was supposed to do now, she couldn't go home and she needed to sleep but didn't know how to go about asking Izaya what she would do.

"So, what time do you think your roommate will be back to let you in?" said man's voice rang out through the apartment.

"Actually, she's staying the night at her girlfriend's apartment so I won't be able to get in until tomorrow," she sighed.

"I suppose, out of the goodness of my heart, I could let you stay here," he mocked jokingly. "I'll be working for a bit longer, feel free to make yourself comfortable on the sofa. I'm afraid I don't have any spare bedrooms, I put some blankets over there."

"Thank you for letting me stay here, I'm sorry for being a bother," she said respectfully.

"Oh yes, you certainly are a pain," his eyes and tone gave away his true opinion however, he didn't seem like he cared very much. He just appeared to be amused; he wore that expression a lot around her now (after the apology).

Settling down under several blankets, the sofa was so soft she sank into a relaxing slumber, several strands of hair falling in front of her face as she buried her face into the plump pillow. Izaya watched her descend into unconsciousness _'I love humans but even I have to admit some of them are cuter than others…what am I thinking?'_ What an odd thought, a strange thought for a strange day.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Eyelids batted together trying to prevent an onslaught of light invading them, it was strange. She always closed her curtains before going to sleep so it was never bright in the mornings even if Sasha had opened her door the light from the hallway shouldn't be that light. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she sat up gloomily to try and find where the offending light source was.

"Good morning, you were asleep so long I thought you'd died," a soft voice called out.

Oh, right. She locked herself out the day before, what a genius she was. Apparently getting an A in chemistry doesn't help you remember your keys in the morning, pity. The large duvet which was about double the size of the sofa dropped to the floor as the brunette stretched creating a black pool in the middle of the floor.

"If it's not ten, it's still early," she yawned back.

Speaking of the time, what time was it? '7:10' according to her phone, what time did that weirdo wake up in the morning? It's too early to be awake, her shift didn't even start until nine and he dare think she was late waking up. She was so tempted to throw the duvet over herself and go back to sleep but she'd just end up oversleeping if she went back to sleep now.

"Your clothes should be dry by now, they're on the radiator over there," Izaya informed as he sipped his steaming cup of coffee.

She nodded in thanks before confirming that they were indeed dry and proceeding to the bathroom to get changed. Once back into the clothes she wore the previous day she handed the raven haired man his neatly folded clothes back.

Just then Lily's phone indicated that she'd just received a message form Sasha 'Hey! Where are you? Are you lost?! Do you need me to look for you?! Have you been kidnapped? Please don't be dead!' Sasha could be a little overprotective at times, okay, so she'd wandered off one or two times and had to the lost child's area when shopping before but she was fine. It's not like she'd even been kidnapped before, only almost once when at the park when she was five but she started cried and ran away so she never actually got abducted.

The only thing was that when that happened she'd ran into the sketchier neighbourhood in the opposite direction of the park whilst Sasha ran after her. For someone so lacking in athleticism Lily sure could run fast. Sasha had joined cross-country after school in case something like that were to happen again, better to be safe than sorry after all.

'I'm fine, don't worry I'll be back soon.' Not wanting to cause her friend anymore distress she gathered her things to leave.

"Thanks for letting me stay here Izaya, sorry again for intruding."

"Izaya? I didn't think you'd be so friendly so quickly," he commented.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, s-sorry Mr Orihara. I'm really not t-trying to be rude," Lily blurted out.

The information broker smirked down at her, "Calm down, calm down. It's a common mistake among foreigners."

"Sorry," the belittled girl said finally before hurrying back home.

Stepping through the door Lily was suddenly met with a rampaging roommate who looked like she was about to eat her whole, an almost deranged look in her eyes. "I was so worried, where did you go? I thought you were asleep last night but you weren't here this morning and you wouldn't go to the shop this early in the morning because you're a lazy little poo!"

"I thought you were staying at Mai's," Lily said, confused.

"No point, her sister was there so there'd be no sexy times. But back to my point: what the heck happened to you?!"

"I just locked myself out. You work yourself up too much."

"So where did you stay?" Sasha asked after calming down a bit.

"Mr Orihara's, two floors up."

"Oooh, isn't he that hot guy from the other day?"

"…I'll give you: the guy from the other day."

"Come one, he's cute, admit it," she stated, her smirk rivalling Izaya's.

"He looks like a person," Lily replied blandly.

Sasha sighed, "You've always been slightly tsundere."

"No, I'm just not interested in any of the people you ship me with," she corrected.

"Why not? I have great taste in men," Sasha claimed.

"But you're a lesbian."

"That doesn't mean anything! I know an attractive human when I see one, I just don't want to fuck any of the attractive male population!" she explained extravagantly.

"Language!"

"I'm sorry, if you want me to constantly speak Japanese I'm afraid it's not going to happen. I will speak English when I'm too lazy to be bilingual, which is now."

"Bilingual, what about French?"

"Je ne parle pas le français parce que c'est trop difficile!"

"Fair enough," Lily laughed.

"Anyway, enough of that, you stayed 'round an attractive man's house. I want details."

"I slept on the sofa, that's it."

"Hmm? Nothing at all? That's so boring, c'est ennuyeux! And you slept in stinky clothes too, you've blown it with this guy," Sasha feigned to faint.

"No, I had to use some of his clothes since we got caught in the rain."

"It's something! Sometimes people find it hot when you wear their clothes! There's hope for you yet my young child!"

"I think that only applies when you're in a relationship already, anyway, you've distracted me far too long Sash. I have work soon," and with that Lily went to get ready for work.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Work flew by that day but Lily didn't quite want to go home yet so she ended up wandering around Ikebukuro alone with her thoughts. For some reason she couldn't stop thinking about how Izaya had helped her, she didn't feel right not doing anything to thank him; she didn't expect him to go out of his way like that after their first encounter.

"Sushi, Russia Sushi! It good, one time not enough to kill you!" a man's voice rang out.

Russia Sushi? Why did it sound so familiar…? Of course, it was written on a box in Izaya's kitchen! So, he has sushi from this place, maybe she could get some for him, hopefully it'd be enough to thank him.

"Excuse me," she whispered loudly.

"Yes? You want sushi?"

"Well, maybe. Do you know what kind of sushi Izaya Orihara likes? I-It's okay if you don't, I just…"

"His favourite fatty tuna, why? Does Izaya have girlfriend?" the tall Russian man raised a suspicious eyebrow.

The girl blushed furiously "No! No, no, no, no, we're just neighbours."

"Hmm, that's probably for best. Go, go, buy sushi," the man ushered her inside.

Lily couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that but shrugged it off, it's not like she was interested in him anyway so that was irrelevant. Once she had acquired the sushi for her quest it was time to head home to deliver the item to Izaya. Speak of the devil, she'd just caught sight of the fluffy trim on the hood of his coat disappear around a corner so she jogged/speed walked after him. It requires too much effort to run.

"Mr Orihara!" she called out so she could stop with the strenuous, demanding exercise.

"Miss Addison? This is a surprise," the informant whirled around upon hearing his name.

"I wanted to thank you for letting me stay over last night so I got you this," Lily went to give Izaya the box of fatty tuna sushi but the informant had since stepped closer and the velocity at which she thrust the box forced it to hit him squarely in the face before it dropped into his hands.

…Oops… Why did this always happen to the both of them? Not giving Izaya any time to react Lily ran down the street in embarrassment of how stupidly clumsy she had been, what was she supposed to say after that? Precisely, she had no other choice but to run and come up with yet another apology for the unfortunate crimson-eyed man.

To clear her head from the self-pity a bit and cool down Lily continued on with her walk before she'd been interrupted by the Russia Sushi guy taking her time strolling down the winding roads. It didn't take too long to relax as she walked on aimlessly, absent to the rest of the city. Being so lost in thoughts Lily didn't notice a tall figure standing in front of her and she inevitably made contact with their back with a small 'oof'.

"What the hell was that for?" a blonde bartender asked angrily.

Lily's head snapped up, warm brown eyes widening "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

The blonde man sniffed suddenly and stiffened "You smell like the flea."

"I-I'm sorry?" confusion etched onto her face.

"Izaya Orihara. Why do you smell like that flea?!" they got increasingly angry.

"I a-accidentally threw a box of s-sushi in his face not too long ago, m-maybe that's it," Lily squeaked.

It was now the bartender's turn to look confused, "Have I seen you before?"

This person seemed to get distracted a lot. "Um, I think I saw you when with Erika and Walker once," Lily suggested.

"Ahh, that's it. So what did the flea do now?" he questioned as he lit a cigarette.

"Nothing, I was just t-trying to thank him for h-helping me the other day," she explained.

"Help? That doesn't sound like the flea, don't thank him for anything. He probably has some plot or something. If he does I'll kill him!"

"Is Mr Orihara r-really that bad? A-A lot of people keep telling m-me to stay away from h-him."

"Like I said, he's a flea. Do you have a stutter or something?"

"No, I'm just n-not good with people," despite this, Lily was pretty impressed with herself that she had been speaking to a stranger for this long.

The tall blonde bartender, Shizuo, had calmed down considerably after a while just talking to the brunette. She seemed calmer than some of the other people in this city, it was refreshing to say the least. After a while the girl's stuttering had ceased as well as she became more comfortable around the 'monster' of Ikebukuro as many people referred to Shizuo as. Lily really didn't understand that, at the start he'd been a little temperamental sure but she had walked into him.

Maybe she was naïve. People appeared to have conflicting views to her about both Izaya and Shizuo now. Lily had quickly gathered that Shizuo was not a huge fan of the raven, who wouldn't be able to tell though? He'd referred to her neighbour as a plotting flea; it was a pretty easy interpretation.

For some reason at some point the conversation had drifted onto cats and the both of them had bonded over the topic of small furry felines because seriously, who doesn't like cats. The enthusiasm that went into the discussion caused onlookers to stare at the pair strangely. 'Bukuro's toughest was expressing his fondness towards a tiny, innocent creature (although we all know they're not very innocent… Manipulative little things, they could be Izaya's minions).

Entering the station after waving goodbye to Shizuo Lily sighed in content, the afternoon was spent quite well if you forgot about the incident with Izaya. She couldn't wait to get home and sink down into a fortress of pillows with a cup of steaming hot chocolate and watch the new episode of Blue Exorcist.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Finally, the weekend had arrived and unlike the regular weekend she would've had at home this week Lily would actually be going outside with friends. A huge turning point in her life had been made clear, she was now not a complete shut-in! Lily had gotten a job (to pay rent), went outside (to find a job), gotten into a fight (more like a heated argument) and had a sleepover (because she got locked out).

Things were changing in her life now. Lily wasn't just watching anime all day, although she did have a job before it wasn't nearly as…Interesting, but she had been going out more, most of the reason was because of external factors not her own free will but still, it counts. Even with all these changes Lily was glad that her inner otaku hadn't been extinguished by any means, she had been thrilled beyond words when Erika had invited her out for the day.

'Hey Lily-chan, you want to hang out with Yuma-chi and me on Saturday? We're going on a huuuge anime spree!'

'Yes, of course! Can I bring a friend?' she replied enthusiastically.

'Sure, the more the merrier as they say.'

If she left Sasha out whilst she was fangirling over anime she'd never hear the end of it. Sasha was buzzing next to Lily as they left the apartment, both from the thought of purchasing new anime merchandise and at the fact that she'd be meeting some of Lily's new friends; Sasha always had been a people person. She seemed leave a lasting impression on everyone she met too, she was a little eccentric but that was all part of her personal charm.

Upon locating the pair of anime obsessed otakus (other than themselves) the four of them instantly started in the direction of the closest shop that sold anime related products. It was a reasonable distance away which presented the opportunity for introductions.

"Hey, name's Sasha and I just happen to be Lil's best friend so don't go stealing her from me a'right?" Sasha greeted playfully.

"Erika, nice to meet you but be careful I may just take Lily-chan for myself," Erika winked back.

"Well then I'll have to fight you for her," Sasha held up her fists in a mock battle stance.

"You sure you know what you're getting yourself in for?"

Walker then whined "What? Erika, you're not gonna leave me are you?"

"You never know Yuma-chi," she teased.

"No fair, you, don't steal Erika away from me. The other guys don't understand the true gift of anime!"

This went on for a while before they reached the first shop which was filled with pop figures and manga stacked to the ceiling. Just looking through the window was enough to shut everyone up to stare in awe at the range of options they could choose between. Or, in a perfect world: buy everything!

The atmosphere was serene yet chaotic as neatly ordered manga was swiped up left and right by Erika and Walker in the blink of an eye. Anime hunting fanatics, no, demons. Blazing through the aisles they rendered any other customer's chances at grabbing anything impossible, a whirlwind of frantic limbs were all they were now it was as if they were a strange beast filled with animelust instead of the typical bloodlust.

After the monster had its fill of anime for the day the group decided that it'd be a good time to stop, they'd only made it in a couple of shops due to the beastly pair but it was certainly an enjoyable experience nonetheless. As they were heading back Lily spotted a familiar blonde bartender and without thinking, called him over.

"Hey, fancy running into you again, Addison right?" Shizuo smiled.

"Mhm, that's right. I'm surprised you remembered it Heiwajima-san, you didn't remember me at all last time we ran into each other."

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Oh no, don't worry. I was just kidding."

The man of which Shizuo was with stood in place looking slightly perplexed, face contorted in confusion "I'm I missing something here."

"Not really, she just ran into me the other day," Shizuo explained.

"It's unusual for you to be so friendly Shizuo," the man with dreadlocks stated, still puzzled. The blonde shrugged in response before the other continued, "Well, we should get going now.

"Right," Shizuo turned to Lily "See you later Addison."

"It was nice to see you again Mr Heiwajima," Lily waved back before turning to the others.

"I had no idea you were so popular, first our neighbour and now a bartender-looking guy. You're well on your way to having your own harem of hot guys," Sasha nudged.

Lily sighed heavily "Shuddup Sash, no harems are happening here. Mr Orihara and Mr Heiwajima are both just acquaintances."

"Sure they are," she replied sceptically. "It's not as if you spent the night at Orihara's or anything."

"And loved every second of it," the sly informant seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Although I have to say, it's quite rude to hit someone in the face with sushi."

"It's quite unusual for you to let someone spend the night Izaya. What's the occasion?" Erika wondered.

"I thought that would be obvious," he stated bluntly earning a few questioning stares.

"Well Lil, what do you have to say for yourself?" Sasha gave smirk so wide it rivalled Izaya's once again.

"I forgot my key! I don't know why you're looking at me like that Sash, you knew this."

"Well, we'd better be going now. Izaya, don't try anything alright," Erika said before she and Walker headed off to meet with Kyohei and the others.

Izaya, Sasha and Lily continued walking through Ikebukuro to get back to their building before Lily suddenly remembered that she had to do the shopping.

"Now that you mention it, my fridge is running a little low. There's a supermarket not too far from here, we could go there if you want," Izaya suggested.

Sasha then piped up, "Suppose I'll leave you both to it, you old married couple," she then skipped off towards the train station before Lily had time to object.

It seemed that Izaya had ignored her comment though as he began walking towards the shop with Lily in toe. A warm blast of air greeted them as they entered the shop, the bleeping of the tills echoing off the walls as clacking cart wheels sped along the floor. The pair travelled from aisle to aisle picking up the desired items before heading over to the sweets section due to Lily's demand for skittles.

Izaya's biggest mistake was mentioning that he wasn't a fan of sweets, Lily was sent into a spiralling rant about how he was an idiot for not liking sweets. The discussion continued up to the point where they'd both paid and left.

Meanwhile three Raira Academy students happened to stumble upon the scene.

"Do you think they're dating?" a dark haired boy asked.

"Doubt it, it's Izaya after all," his blonde companion responded. "I doubt that psycho could ever get a girlfriend."


End file.
